Poll Shows Bush Dropping; Will 'Marriage' Issue Help Him?

(CNSNews.com) - President George W. Bush's job approval rating has dropped to 42 percent -- a record low for this president and a drop of six points from last month, the latest Zogby International poll says.

The poll does not ask any questions about same-sex marriage, however; and some press reports indicate that particular issue may be a bigger factor in Bush's re-election prospects than many people realize.

According to the Zogby poll, 42 percent of Americans approve of the job Bush is doing, 58 percent said they disapproved.

Moreover, if the election were held today, 47 percent of those polled said they would support Sen. John F. Kerry of Massachusetts, compared with 42 percent who would support President Bush. (A poll conducted last month also showed Kerry with 47 percent support; Bush's support has dropped two points.)

-- Almost 42 percent of likely voters said Bush "deserves to be re-elected. Almost 53 percent said "it's time for someone new."

-- Kerry leads Bush in the Eastern, Western and Central Great Lakes regions. Bush lead in the South.

-- Nearly two in three voters said they disapprove of Bush's handing of the war in Iraq - an 18-point drop in the last six months, the poll findings said.

-- 47 percent of voters said the war in Iraq was "worth it." Fifty percent said "not worth it."

-- 31 percent of likely voters said jobs and the economy are the top issues facing the nation. 22 percent said the war in Iraq is the top issue, followed by 9 percent who picked the war on terrorism; 10 percent said health care is the top issue, and 5 percent picked education.

The Zogby telephone poll is based on a random sampling of 985 likely voters chosen at random nationwide, and it was conducted May 10-13. The margin of error is 3.2 points either way.

'Marriage factor'

A strong turnout by conservative voters would certainly help President Bush. And a report in Monday's San Francisco Chronicle says state initiatives to ban same-sex "marriage" may in fact bring conservative voters to the polls in droves.

The newspaper said at least 14 states are putting proposed same-sex "marriage" bans on their ballots - and a strong turnout by conservatives concerned about the issue may end up boosting President Bush's prospects, the report said.

The San Francisco Chronicle quoted Jeff Wunrow, the head of a homosexual advocacy group in Missouri, where a proposed ban on same-sex marriage is slated to be on the state's November ballot: "You don't have to squint very hard to see that if this is on the ballot in November, this will be a huge get-out-the-vote boost for conservatives and Republicans," Wunrow told the newspaper.